Summary:
Zip code 31305, encompassing the Darien area in McIntosh County, Georgia, is served by a single middle school, McIntosh County Middle School, which educates students in grades 6 through 8 within the McIntosh County school district.
As the only middle school in the area, McIntosh County Middle School serves a student body where 100% qualify for free or reduced lunch, reflecting a high-poverty population. The school invests heavily in its students, with per-pupil spending of $15,469 and a favorable 13.4:1 student-teacher ratio. A notable bright spot is its Algebra I End of Course performance, where 50% of students are proficient, surpassing both the district (36.2%) and state (44.9%) averages. However, the most striking trend is a dramatic decline in math proficiency as students advance: 6th graders exceeded the state average in 2025-2026 (51.5% vs. 40.7%), but 8th-grade proficiency plummeted to 22.3%, far below the state's 46.3%. This pattern was even more extreme the prior year, when 7th-grade math proficiency was just 14.3%. Encouragingly, 6th-grade math improved by 14.6 percentage points year-over-year, suggesting successful interventions at the transition to middle school. Science proficiency has remained stable at 22.5%, trailing the state by about 7 points, while social studies (27.5% proficient) also lags the state average of 40.2%.
In English Language Arts, the school trails state averages in all grades, but the gap narrows significantly by 8th grade (38.2% vs. 39.8%). Chronic absenteeism is a relative strength at 15.5%, better than both the district (19.0%) and state (17.7%) rates. The school's state ranking has fluctuated, dropping from 286th (3 stars) in 2023-2024 to 349th (2 stars) in 2024-2025, before recovering to 313th (2 stars) in 2025-2026. While the 7th-grade math scores remain a critical concern, the overall trajectory is positive, with recent gains in 6th-grade math and a slight improvement in state ranking suggesting momentum that could yield better outcomes as these students progress.
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